Foreign Policy and Terorism: a Case Study of Kenya 1963-2018

Abstract

The use of planned violence with an aim of imposing fear to a person or a group of persons in order to cause them to behave in a certain manner or prevent them from doing something has been there since time immemorial. The study was guided by three objectives which included: the overview of Kenya’s foreign policy choices since 1963, an assessment of how foreign policy could have pre-disposed the country to terrorism since independence and a critical analysis of the relationship between terrorist threats and foreign policy. Secondary data was gathered from mostly newspaper as most of the information required is available from media platforms where these occurrences are reported. This includes foreign policy choices and terrorist attacks which are highlighted in the media and not documented in books. The study tested three hypotheses namely: Kenya is pre-disposed to terror attacks due to foreign policy leaning, systematic terror attacks play a major role on Kenya’s foreign policy and there is no link or nexus between foreign policy and terrorism. The study established that Kenya’s foreign policy has been laid back until the country was faced by terror attacks. The study also found out that although Kenya had no written foreign policy framework for a long time it still engaged with other states and non-state actors in the global arena. In addition, Kenya’s relationship with close allies has contributed to terror attacks that have occurred in the country. Therefore there is a link between Kenya’s geographical position, foreign policy choices and decisions and terror attacks. The study therefore recommended a number of ways to help reduce the number of terror attacks while pursuing national interests through foreign policy